She was 21, an aspiring art student in New York, when Jeffrey Epstein offered her a lifeline. A scholarship. No strings attached, he said. She would never have to see him again.
But the calls kept coming. And when she didn’t volunteer to visit, the offer was withdrawn.
“He was like, ‘Well, you’re not being obedient, so I’m going to take that away,'” Rina Oh recalled in an exclusive interview with NDTV, her voice still carrying the weight of decades.
Oh’s story, of psychological domination, of isolation, of a man who weaponized hope, has taken on new urgency in recent weeks. As the world continues to sift through the 3 million pages of documents released by the US Department of Justice, a pattern has emerged that investigators say reveals not just a predator, but a man obsessed with control in its most extreme forms.
Buried in the files is evidence that Epstein poured tens of thousands of dollars into an international hunt for individuals with “X-Men like” abilities, including a woman allegedly capable of mind control. The operation spanned Hong Kong, California, and his infamous Caribbean island, with the financier personally directing the search.
But to understand why, one must first understand the man Rina Oh came to know.
‘He Psychologically Harmed Me’
“He was a raging narcissist,” Oh told media. “It wasn’t just physical abuse. It was psychological, emotional. There was a lot of devaluation. Sometimes it takes decades to recover from this.”
Oh described what she called a “protocol” at Epstein’s homes, a system where most visitors ended up in the massage room, where the lines between generosity and exploitation blurred until they disappeared entirely. She studied the books on his coffee table, watched his expressions, listened to his phone calls. Early on, she sensed that “something is off about this man.”
Then came the warning.
“He disclosed some of the things that he did overseas and then threatened me with physical harm if I ever told anyone,” she said.
It is this same man, this “raging narcissist” with a documented history of trafficking minors, who according to newly released documents, was simultaneously funding a global search for mind-reading, telekinesis, and the power to control others without touching them.
The psychological manipulation Oh describes mirrors precisely what Epstein sought from the fringe science community: the ability to dominate, to control, to erase free will. The Eastern Herald has previously reported on how powerful figures like Prince Andrew became entangled in Epstein’s web, with the British royal arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office following revelations in the files.
The Hong Kong Academic and the $20,000 Question
Among the millions of pages in the Epstein document dump, more than 1,000 are dedicated to correspondence with a retired Hong Kong Polytechnic University academic who maintained a secret years-long relationship with the financier beginning in 2011.
The South China Morning Post, which extensively investigated the academic’s ties to Epstein, reported that the scholar received $20,000 from Epstein for a research project that year, ostensibly related to artificial intelligence, but quickly veering into the supernatural.
The “it” was mind-reading, telepathy, and other “psychic activities”, abilities the academic spent years trying to locate in subjects across Asia. The documents show Epstein demanded regular updates on the results, treating the search for individuals with “special abilities” with the same urgency he applied to his financial machinations.
The academic introduced Epstein to a network of parapsychology researchers and self-proclaimed psychics. In a 2017 email, there was mention of an experiment involving a self-proclaimed “psychokinesis master” who claimed the ability to “manipulate electrical current from a distance.”
They finally met in person in 2015, and their correspondence reveals multiple in-person meetings at Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse, the same location where victims like Rina Oh have testified they were recruited and abused. WION, citing the SCMP investigation, confirmed the $20,000 payment was specifically for “finding people with special abilities.”
The South China Morning Post made repeated attempts to contact the scholar via email and phone about his relationship with Epstein, but he did not respond.
The Island Rebrand: ‘Could Be a Good Rebrand for Your Island’
Perhaps most disturbing is evidence that Epstein planned to transform his infamous Little St. James Island, already notorious as the site where victims describe being trapped with “no transportation, no money,” into a research facility for psychic phenomena.
In a series of 2017 emails, the Hong Kong academic pitched the idea directly to Epstein.
“Is your island out of commission?” the scholar asked, referring to Little St. James. “Could be a good rebrand for your island.”
The academic suggested a group that “organise[d] events and are looking for an island to collaborate with,” effectively proposing that Epstein’s private paradise be converted into a global hub for paranormal research and psychic experimentation.
It remains unknown whether any such gatherings actually occurred. But the proposal alone raises horrifying questions: If Epstein was already using the island to traffic minors, what might he have done with subjects he believed possessed mind control abilities?
In another email from 2017, the academic introduced Epstein to Lydia Laurenson, an author who previously detailed a meeting with the financier at his Manhattan residence. In that meeting, she claimed, Epstein brought out a group of “barely legal” women.
The Mind-Control Technology Files: ‘Directed Energy and Mind Control’
While the psychic experiments might be dismissed as fringe pseudoscience, researchers poring through the documents have identified files that suggest something far more sinister. The Mercury News reported that UC San Diego professors sought funding from Epstein to research telepathy, with one professor calling the revelation “utterly disturbing.”
Neuroscientist V.S. Ramachandran and professor Paul Mills collaborated on a 2017 study involving a 12-year-old boy believed to possess telepathic abilities. In one experiment, the child allegedly typed numbers his mother read silently to herself, a result Mills called “remarkable.” ThePrint covered Ramachandran’s involvement and the $25,000 transfer from Epstein’s foundation.
“I don’t have a problem with my lab being funded by Epstein,” Ramachandran wrote in September 2017.
Epstein wrote a $50,000 check for the research, though UC San Diego now says no money was ultimately accepted. Mills, who said he was unaware of Epstein’s involvement until contacted by reporters, called the revelation “utterly disturbing.”
The intersection of vulnerable populations, autistic children, with Epstein’s known predation patterns has horrified disability rights advocates. Ari Ne’eman, a health policy professor at Harvard, told media: “There is a disturbing amount of pseudoscience in the world of autism, of which the bizarre claims regarding telepathy are but one example amongst many. Needless to say, autistic people are not telepathic.”
Deepak Chopra’s involvement in these discussions has also drawn scrutiny. The Week published details of Chopra’s emails with Epstein discussing “psi experiments” involving “erotic/violent” imagery and references to “cute Israeli girls.” Chopra later acknowledged “poor judgment in tone” while denying knowledge of criminal activity.
“I want to be clear: I was never involved in, nor did I participate in, any criminal or exploitative conduct,” Chopra wrote in a social media post. “Any contact I had was limited and unrelated to abusive activity.”
The Plant Connection: ‘Devil’s Breath’ and the Zombie-Making Drug
Even more disturbing are emails suggesting Epstein explored chemical methods of mind control. Correspondence from March 2014 references his “trumpet plants at nursery,” a likely reference to Angel’s Trumpet plants containing scopolamine, a compound known as “Devil’s Breath” that can render victims highly suggestible and eliminate free will.
Additional emails show Epstein received articles about scopolamine’s effects, including reports that victims become “like a child” and “zombies” under its influence. The intersection of Epstein’s known predation methods with his interest in mind-altering substances has raised questions about whether the plants were used on victims, though no direct evidence has emerged. Media reports analyzing the document dump noted extensive materials addressing mind control technology used on people without consent.
What cannot be dismissed is the pattern: Epstein’s known interest in controlling people, whether through trafficking, blackmail, or technology, aligns perfectly with the search for mind control capabilities documented in these files.
The Human Toll: ‘I Was Trapped’
For Rina Oh, the documents are validation of what she has known for decades. TVBS in Taiwan extensively covered her testimony and her decision to waive anonymity in 2019.
“The privileged, they get away with almost anything and everything,” Oh told media. “They have the means to afford the best legal teams. They’re able to use every loophole that exists in US law or international law.”
She eventually broke away from Epstein, finding her own job in fashion PR. “I didn’t like the idea of someone controlling me,” she said. In 2019, she waived her anonymity to push for his arrest, saying she “sacrificed” her privacy and safety to support other victims. News18 quoted her describing Epstein as a “raging narcissist” who “psychologically harmed” her.
She now questions why more than two million files linked to the investigation remain unreleased.
“There’s over 2 million files they’re not releasing right now, and I want to know what’s in it,” she said. “We don’t have the answers until we see the remainder.”
“There are 10 co-conspirators. There needs to be full transparency into what they did,” she added, saying she suspects the trafficking operation may still have surviving elements. The Eastern Herald’s coverage of Prince Andrew connects directly to her demand for accountability among powerful figures.
“In terms of closure, I don’t think I’ll get closure until we find out what remains of this operation, because I believe it still exists.”
Oh also addressed the circumstances surrounding Epstein’s death with a conviction that speaks to the man she knew. When asked whether she believed he died by suicide, she responded firmly, “Jeffrey Epstein would have never killed himself.” She went further, saying, “Epstein was too evil to take his own life. He may have paid someone to kill him.”
Speaking about legal developments involving figures connected to Epstein, she commented, “It didn’t give me a sense of closure, but I feel that this is just the beginning. It sets an example for what should be done here in the United States.”
The Disinformation War
Complicating matters, the Epstein revelations have become entangled in a broader disinformation campaign. A viral video circulating on social media that appears to show former US President Donald Trump alongside young blindfolded girls has been debunked as fake, according to misinformation researchers. The Eastern Herald previously examined the fear among Epstein’s wealthy associates, including Trump, as names began surfacing in the files.
Experts say the video is AI-generated and manipulated, and part of a wider disinformation effort. Researchers from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue say the account that shared the video is part of a network promoting messaging aligned with certain government interests.
Bret Schafer, who leads US research at ISD, said the strategy appears to be simple: attract attention with sensational content related to Epstein and then expose viewers to political propaganda.
“You come for the Epstein content, and you stay for the propaganda,” Schafer said.
The spread of misleading content has intensified since late February, when Middle East tensions escalated. Since then, social media platforms have been flooded with dramatic videos claiming to show missile strikes, destroyed fighter jets and large explosions, many later debunked as AI-generated or recycled footage.
What Remains Buried
Despite the document dump, key questions persist: Who was the woman described in some accounts as possessing mind-control capabilities? Were experiments conducted on Epstein’s island? Did any subjects actually demonstrate verifiable psychic abilities? And perhaps most urgently, was the search for mind control connected to Epstein’s pattern of exploitation?
The documents offer glimpses but no definitive answers. The island experiments, if they occurred, left no paper trail. And the scientific validity of the psychic claims remains hotly disputed.
For Rina Oh, justice will not come from a single arrest or a single headline. It will begin, she says, only when every name is spoken and every question is answered under oath.
“Anyone who’s named in those files needs to be questioned under oath if they haven’t provided testimony,” she said. “The names are some of the richest and most powerful people in the world.”
Jeffrey Epstein died in a Manhattan jail cell on August 10, 2019. But the files released after his death continue to reveal a man whose quest for power extended far beyond the sexual exploitation for which he was known, into the realm of mind control itself.
As one analyst noted, distinguishing overwhelming evidence from certainty remains a challenge. What is certain is that the human toll, the survivors like Rina Oh, must remain at the center of this story.
The Eastern Herald will continue to investigate these revelations as more documents become available.
